IS: Infinite Warfare
by Shidou Haruka
Summary: Tabane is not the only one who knew how to make an IS core. Her rival, Shijou Yuki, who decided to travel the stars with her own IS returned to see their dream became nothing but weapon and entertainment in the world she left. What will happen to the world once these two clashes? Once friends now enemies, the whole world became their battlefield. Ichika x harem, OC x harem.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is the rewrite of Infinite Stratos: Rival. I changed lots of things that is not obvious at first but well, I honestly prefer this version more… even if it is because it is more structured plot-wise and not just me getting an idea, a character, and piss everyone else. Yeah, experience is good stuff. Anyway, here is IS: Infinite Warfare**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos and if I did, there will be more action and probably some dead girls in Ichika's harem instead of a harem with combination worse than anything I've ever seen… then again, I've been hanging around DxD too much that my harem standard is very high.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Chaotic World**

"Finally done!"

"Nee-san?"

"Ahh, Makoto-kun? Look, I finally created my own IS core!"

Shijou Yuki in her excitement shows her little brother the white IS core she herself created.

Shijou Yuki, friend and rival to Shinonono Tabane finally managed to complete on that day her very own core. This is a competition of the two of them, project Infinite Stratos. A long thought out plan where they agree that the first to finish will be recognized as the winner and gain the right to the name of inventor of IS and the right to present it to the whole world. Sadly, Shinonono Tabane won by twenty hours difference and the right fell to Tabane. Even so, Shijou Yuki did not stop immediately but continue her project till the very end for the sake of her own dream. At least now she doesn't have to prepare for a presentation and things like that and went straight to application. Shijou Yuki can actually finish faster than Tabane but what made the difference is that Yuki also built the IS frame at the same time as the core while Tabane focus on the core first while dealing with the frame later. The complexity of the frame is also what made Yuki lose. While Tabane made White Knight that will become the first recognized IS as a combat-type IS that has little amount of physical armor, Shijou Yuki made her first IS, Aoki Senkou, as a pure exploration-type IS with more armor and booster. Her IS has a more complicated frame with its emphasis on protection and speed along with equipments that can be used for exploration which results in her consuming more time, thus losing the competition.

Even so, Shijou Yuki is very happy. She forgoes sleep just to finish this project and now she has the time to immediately test the unit, the [Aoki Senkou]. She put all she has into her creation. All her blood and sweat, her hopes and dreams, everything. Unlike Tabane who made the White Knight for her friend, Aoki Senkou is her own IS, made by her for her. Project IS is another step towards the realization of her dream.

"Congratulation, nee-san!"

Her little brother, Shijou Makoto, is genuinely happy for his sister.

"Too bad that nee-san lose."

"Maa, it doesn't matter, Makoto-kun. What matters is that I give my creation everything I got."

It is only now that Yuki finished encasing the core in its container and add the amplifier. At least she knows that her core is superior although somewhat more complicated. Compared to Tabane's Yuki's core has higher output and has high restoration speed although the materials she uses are even rarer than Tabane's which is also another reason why she loses.

Shijou Yuki then put the core into Aoki Senkou. The IS has a full body armor and a helmet for a full protection should the absolute barrier fail. Yuki did not forget of that possibility as exploration means seeking the unknown and it is better safe than sorry. Due to its focus on defense and speed, Aoki Senkou is lightly armed. It's only offensive weapon is a pair of katana named Ame-no-Murakumo and Ame-no-Habakiri. Most of its energy is used to power its boosters and absolute barrier along with other equipments meant more to help in exploration than battle. Aoki Senkou's primary color is blue and its design is based on Hi-Nu Gundam, Shijou Yuki's favorite Gundam. Thankfully she didn't name it Hi-nu Gundam or she could be sued for copyright infringement. At least she could become an MS girl. Aoki Senkou has eleven boosters with four on its wing-like appendage and a large one on its back and another one for each leg. Truly she prepares everything needed for an exploration unit… unless her lack of sleep made her forget something.

"Anyway, I'll be going for a test flight. I might not return tonight or maybe anytime soon. I'll try to go to Mars, no, Neptune! Ohh, what the hell, I'll go beyond the galaxy if I can! Anyway, don't wait for me but I'll definitely return."

Shijou Makoto watch as his sister got into her IS and activate it. He can only sighs as it really made her look like an MS girl, very different from Shinonono Tabane's design.

"See ya later! To infinity and beyond!"

It is not until years later that Makoto reunite with his sister again.

* * *

-The White Knight Incident-

"No… what have you done!"

Shijou Makoto look horrified as she watch the tv showing a machine that he is familiar with. No, not exactly familiar as he had never seen the unit itself but he knows what kind of machine it is. How can he not? He had helped creating such a machine with his own two hands.

2341 missiles were shot from all over the world towards japan. Makoto's sharp mind knew that there is only one crazy bastard that would do something like that and the appearance of that machine just support his suspicion. He had known about the dismissal of the IS project and this… this is a retaliation, a temper tantrum by the creator of that machine.

"Dammit Tabane, if the Infinite Stratos is revealed in such a way… it will be nothing more than a weapon!"

Makoto grit his teeth as his blood boils in anger. He is young but he is smart and he knows that their dream had now been shattered. The moment the IS unit swung its sword and fire its particle cannon, Shijou Makoto broke down in tears.

The moment the first shot of its particle cannon is fired, the boy knew that the world changed, and it is not in the way his sister or himself desired.

* * *

It was an ordinary day… well, maybe not so ordinary since it is the final of Mondo Grosso tournament. It was the final and the two contestants are fighting intensely. Chifuyu is of course still not going all out.

Orimura Chifuyu once again controls the competition as she advance in great pace, making it almost like a one woman show featuring only herself. Competitions after competitions she cut down with her superior skill armed only with a single sword. She was about to deal her opponent the finishing blow.

But then it happens.

A blue light crashed through the shield of the tournament arena and into the ground. When the dust settled, everyone is surprised of course but none more so than Orimura Chifuyu herself. Although there are improvements like thinner but wider wings and more sleek and metallic design, she recognized the IS that had just crashed into the arena. She became absolutely sure when the IS drew a familiar katana, one she only saw in design but very distinct as it is different from all other IS weaponry currently in existence.

Ame-no-Murakumo.

"SHINONONO TABANE! HOW DARE YOU TURN OUR DREAM INTO THIS ABOMINABLE THING!"

The pilot screamed in fury.

The two contestants who had been fighting turn their attention to the new arrival. The first to react was of course Orimura Chifuyu who is now sure that the IS unit she's seeing belongs to no other than her old friend, the genius who possess the same level of intellect as Tabane but much more reasonable.

And that genius is currently pissed beyond her imagination.

Their eyes met and Chifuyu could see murder in her eyes. Shijou Yuki is beyond pissed, she's absolutely outraged. The blue IS, Aoki Senkou, charged at the two competing IS. Chifuyu braced herself and position her Yukihira with its one-off ability activated in a defensive stance.

But it is useless.

The pilot activated her IS' one-off ability 'Senkou'. Her IS disappear and reappear at the other side of the field.

And both Chifuyu and her opponent was down with their IS sliced and destroyed with no hope of being repaired.

Moments later, the world network was hacked and Aoki Senkou appear on every TV and phone screen all over the world.

"Tabane, I don't know where you are right now and you better hope it stays that way forever because if I do find you… I will make sure you die."

That day marks a new page on the history of IS.

Although it won't happen for a few more years, this is the beginning of IS war. A war fought by many but revolves only around two people. But that day was not just about the return of Shijou Yuki and her declaration of war. Far away from the arena in a place unknown, a tragedy happened.

* * *

"Makoto! Oi, Makoto!"

Ichika can't believe what his friend just did.

He, Orimura Ichika, had been kidnapped by a group of people who wanted Chifuyu to lose the Mondo Grosso tournament. It is a good plan, except for one small problem. That small problem is Ichika's best friend who is like a brother to him, Shijou Makoto.

He came crashing in with his own self-built IS, surprising the kidnappers who consists of a group of men and a women in an IS. The sight of a boy piloting an IS is enough to catch them off guard, enough time for Makoto to disarm the men and take the enemy IS by surprise.

Unfortunately, Makoto's IS is not a true IS. It was based on whatever schematic was left by his sister and he had not managed to fully replicate the core. The result is a single-use core for limited operation time. When Makoto struck the final blow, his shield had been depleted fully, forcing him to fight the IS on foot. Even if the enemy IS had suffered major damage, it is still a suicidal act. But Makoto had a few tricks up his sleeve, including using his pseudo IS' weapon to strike the killing blow.

But Makoto did not get out of the encounter unharmed.

Ichika is now kneeling beside Makoto's body crying.

"It's all my fault. If only I had not gotten myself kidnapped then…"

"Don't worry Ichika… I don't blame you."

Makoto told him, his head bleeding profusely from an impact he received from the enemy IS' high-caliber rifle. He was both lucky and unlucky. He was lucky since his IS' shield was still active long enough to save him from being killed instantly but was unlucky that the power ran out before the bullet was fully deflected.

"Nee-san…"

Shijou Makoto fell unconscious surrounded by fire and death that he caused.

* * *

A year after Yuki's return, two hundred thirty IS cores was destroyed by her personally with the pilots of the IS usually killed in combat. She was hailed as the strongest pilot piloting the ultimate IS as not even ten IS units piloted by the best pilots the world had to offer could best her, not even Orimura Chifuyu who was one of the few survivors from an encounter with her could match her skill or her IS.

How she possess a weapon that could destroy an IS core is a mystery and that's what makes her dangerous. Her IS' operation time is also vastly superior from how long she could fight against pilots chasing her. By now, her infamy had reached the point that she has become a more wanted person than Shinonono Tabane herself.

After the destruction of the 230th core though, Shijou Yuki disappeared from radar just like Shinonono Tabane. Some said that someone finally took her down or that she's tired of fighting and many other speculations. But Orimura Chifuyu denied every notion of her stopping. As someone who knew her before her reappearance, she understands what she's doing.

The real war begins now.

A year after that, the world was shook by the appearance of 200 more IS cores complete with Shijou Yuki's signature. What shook the world the most is that the fact that all those 200 cores… can be piloted by males too. In a single swift move, Shijou Yuki had overturned the logic of the world once more.

Answering this, Shinonono Tabane release another hundred cores followed by Yuki releasing sixty more. Random missile also launches seemingly targeting nowhere in particular from all around the world. Ballistics, nuclear, drones, everything that can be hacked regardless of security was unleashed.

Orimura Chifuyu can only sigh. The world has become a battlefield of a war between two geniuses, each possibly possessing enough power to annihilate a country. The only thing keeping each other in check is each other.

* * *

-IS Academy, years later-

Orimura Ichika felt his head being smacked by a book. He quickly jump from his seat in surprise, forgetting that he had just dozed off… forgetting where he is right now.

"Orimura, you just made an excellent first impression by dozing off in class even after the bell rang."

"Ugh, but I didn't sleep at all yesterday Mako—"

The teacher smacked Ichika on the head once again. Ichika rubbed his temple that had just been on the receiving end of the only male teacher in IS academy's book. He has medium length ash grey hair and stood only two inches taller than Ichika himself. The teacher wore square-rimmed glasses and has green eyes with a small scar running down his left eye.

"It's sensei you dimwit."

The teacher sighs in exasperation.

"Just introduce yourself."

He ordered. Ichika turn to the class and gulped. Everyone else except him and the teacher are female. He just remembered that he is in IS academy and is currently the only male student here. Even if males could pilot IS now, there are still not that many of them around and most of them are military personnel. Plus every male could pilot IS. Only those with B-rank and above could sufficiently pilot an IS while C-rank pilots could barely maneuver their units. Male-use IS is different in that regard.

And so far of all the males who apply for IS academy this semester, only Orimura Ichika has high enough rank to become a pilot and the only male accepted for this year's batch. This makes him the first and currently only male student in IS academy. Yes, it is a shocking coincidence. Then again, Ichika had learned about IS a lot and trained with pseudo IS a few times so it's not surprising. Once knowledge about IS and training simulators for males become more widespread the number of male pilots would increase.

"Uhh… I'm Orimura Ichika. I don't know how it happens but apparently I'm the only male pilot who passed the test so… please go easy on me."

"Hmph, good introduction Orimura. Okay, next."

The introduction continue until everyone in the class have introduced themselves. After the last student to introduce herself sat down, the teacher went back to his table and sat on it.

"Alright girls… and boy, now it's my turn to introduce myself. I'm Yuuki Makoto and I'm your homeroom teacher. You can call me just sensei or Yuuki sensei."

There was silence after Makoto introduced himself. The teacher sighs as he had expected what's about to happen. He mentally do a countdown from 3… 2… 1…

"Kyaa! It's Makoto-sama himself!"

"Makoto-sama! I came here after hearing that you became a teacher!"

"Makoto-sama, make me pregnant!"

At that last one, Makoto took a rubber eraser and flicked it to the head of the girl who said it in annoyance. The velocity in which the eraser flies is high enough to cause the girl to fall from her chair. He rubbed his temple and asks himself once more why he accepted being the homeroom teacher of first year students, especially this class.

"Umm, Yuuki sensei, should I take over for you?"

A gentle voice became his salvation when he finally remember that he's not the only teacher in the class. Sitting beside his table on a proper chair is a young woman wearing glasses with short green hair. She has a voluptuous figure and Makoto could see her cleavage from his position sitting on his table. He immediately avert his attention and decide that it's better to forget what he saw and introduce her to the class.

"Stupid things aside, this is Yamada Maya sensei, the assistant homeroom teacher. She'll mostly teach theory while I handle practical. The only theory I'm handling is engineering so anyone taking that course will see me… but if you enter engineering just to see me, I'll kick you out. Anyway, any quest… you know what, let's not do that. I've had enough with last year's batch. Maya, you take over."

"Yes, Yuuki sensei. Alright everyone, like what Yuuki sensei said, my name is Yamada Maya…"

With Maya taking over, Makoto let himself relax as he sat on the chair previously occupied by Maya. Seeing that Maya could handle things well enough, Makoto began to work on his tablet. His newest project just need some minor calibration and it will be done. On the screen of his tablet is an Infinite Stratos unit and not just any unit but one he built personally by himself.

It is Orimura Ichika's future unit, the 4th generation Infinite Stratos, Astrea.

* * *

 **So there it is. Ichika got a new unit, some reaction from Makoto, the guy use Yuuki as his new name (reference) to hide his real identity, and he's a teacher and engineer in IS academy. I figure I'd get straight to the point this time. Don't worry, Chifuyu is not dead or bashed or anything. She's in Huang's class and Makoto's relationship with Chifuyu… can be seen next chapter.**

 **I rarely see a male teacher story in IS fic so I decided to do it this way. Anyway, I am also repairing Ichika's character so he won't be a dense idiot anymore and my idea for that is to make him be more like another character voiced by Kouki Uchiyama, his seiyuu.**

 **Anyway, another reason why I'm posting the rewrite now is… because I'm behind schedule for my special DxD Christmas story which would've allowed me to write more Xenovia but well, can't have it all.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I seriously want to end this arc quickly and get on to when the aces appear. Well, let's get on with this.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Challenge**

Makoto dropped onto his seat the moment he reach his desk in the teacher's lounge, letting out a long sigh at the same moment. Homeroom and first period ended without any incident (not like anyone would dare make one) and that's all he hoped for and continue to hope that it is how things will go on from now on. To his left side is the desk of his assistant teacher, Maya. Just like him, she's grateful that nothing went wrong, especially since she's a new teacher and she's particularly shy.

Not to mention that she's tasked with becoming the assistant homeroom teacher to Yuuki Makoto, the one hailed as the next Chifuyu, or even someone greater than her since apart from being a pilot on the same level as the previous champion, he is also extremely knowledgeable about IS to the point that his IS was made by himself, a true prodigy in all sense of words. Being in close contact to perhaps the greatest male pilot in known history made Maya even more nervous.

The only male teacher is currently unaware of his assistant thinking about him though since he is currently focusing on his tablet while taking a sip from his favorite coffee mug. His silence was broken though when the owner of the desk to his right arrived.

"How's your kids Chifuyu?"

Orimura Chifuyu, the homeroom teacher of his neighboring class only grunted in response with an annoyed expression which is all he need to guess what happened. He did hear their neighboring class's voice. Makoto chuckled at knowing that Chifuyu is facing the same problem as him, fangirls.

"Come on, don't look so glum. How about some good news to cheer you up? Ichika didn't make a fool of himself during his introduction and he's way past his peers in theoretical knowledge."

"Hmph, he slept in class when you're doing roll call."

"Ahh you heard that. But other than that, he didn't make a fool of himself."

"…I suppose it's much better than what I expected."

While Chifuyu and Makoto were having their somewhat friendly conversation, Yamada Maya look at the two of them curiously. She had only met them both five days ago separately but she didn't know that they're friendly with each other. Makoto is one thing since he's rather casual but Chifuyu is strict, almost comparable to a drill sergeant. To see Makoto conversing with her like they were old friends peak her curiosity.

Makoto notice Maya staring at them both.

"Is there something on my face, Maya?"

Makoto asked, curious at why she's staring at him.

"Uhh, umm… nothing. It's just… Yuuki sensei seems friendly with Orimura sensei."

"Hmph, me and this brat had known each other since he was little."

"Oi, I'm not little anymore."

Makoto grumbled in the background while Maya nodded in understanding. So they are something like a childhood friend in that regard. So that's why Chifuyu and Makoto are friendly with each other. As Maya's curiosity is finally sated and she return to planning the next lesson, Makoto continue his talk with Chifuyu, this time concerning Ichika's IS.

"Pleasantries aside, it should take around less than a week for me to complete Astrea."

"So it's almost complete?"

"Around 85%. The body is complete and the weapons soon but what's delaying its completion is the system. It's state-of-the-art machine after all. And calibrating it to Ichika's use will take some time."

"I see."

"This is the best IS that we can make openly. This will be the prototype for our own machine that I've started building."

"You're already starting?"

"Chifuyu, you and I know that the reason why _they_ have not appeared is because they're preparing and with their pissing contest using intercontinental missiles and even some nukes suddenly stopping after these past few years, we know what that means."

Chifuyu's expression turns grim. Makoto doesn't have to spell out what he's implying. All those random missile launching is just a pissing contest between Tabane and Yuki. Around thirty to forty missiles were launched monthly from all around the world since Yuki went into hiding but for the past two months no missiles had been launched by any hacker from anywhere around the world and both she and Makoto knew that it's not because Yuki and Tabane managed to take each other out.

They're planning something big and the world will become their battlefield. At best, they'll start fielding IS one-by-one using anonymous means. At worst though… open warfare. That's why they must be ready and Makoto is the closest thing they have to someone that can match either of them.

Chifuyu by herself cannot do much. She might be as capable physically as Tabane but Yuki outmatched. Trying to match mind with either of them is downright impossible for her. She might be smart but both of them are impossible genius. The only mind closest to their level is Makoto.

And that is who she will count on to do something about the conflict happening in the dark side of the world.

* * *

"For the remaining time, we'll mainly be describing all sorts of equipment that can be used in actual combat, and their characteristics."

Makoto continue doing his work on Astrea while he let Maya carry on with teaching the class. Like he said, he handles practicals and advanced theory and engineering while Maya handle the rest. At least, for now. He can't really let Maya do all of his work for him or his large paycheck will seem unfair.

While he continue his work, he also note that Shinonono Houki, Tabane's little sister, is taking minor glances at Ichika. He honestly didn't register her existence in his mind. Then again, out of all the Shinonono he knew, Houki is the most average and lack any significant presence. It's a little insulting to Houki but it's the fact.

The next part of what Maya said though finally made him turn away from his project.

"Ah, but before that, we have to decide on the class representative who'll take part in the inter-class tournament. The class representative is as its name indicates. The class representative will not only compete in the tournament, but will also attend student council meetings and committee meetings as well. Well, you can consider it like a class leader. On a side note, the inter-class battles are meant to gauge each enrolled class' ability. Though there isn't much difference right now, competition will encourage further improvement."

The class started to become abuzz. Makoto though already knew what he wanted to do with this and the best part is he doesn't have to say anything since he could reliably guess what's in the girls' mind. Ichika is already sweating, noticing the fate that's about to befall him while Makoto is internally laughing since this will give him a good venue to have Ichika gather data with his Astrea.

"Sensei, I recommend Orimura-kun!"

"I feel that it's a good idea too!"

"Then the candidate will be Orimura Ichika… is there anyone else? You can either nominate yourself or another person, both are fine."

Makoto who had stood up and wrote Ichika's name on the board ask only for the sake of asking. He already knew it's checkmate for Ichika and the boy himself knew it. Plus he had told him a little about what he wanted him to do so he can guess what he's thinking. Ichika made no attempt to refuse.

Just as he was about to make it official, Makoto got cut off by a highly enthusiastic voice.

"Hold on a minute! I can't accept this outcome!"

A certain student at the back of the class stood up and slammed her hand on her table. Makoto recognize the student and her status and knew that this is trouble… or just another opportunity.

"This kind of election outcome is totally unacceptable! Anyway, having a man as our class representative is totally disgraceful! Do you expect me, Cecilia Alcott to endure this embarrassment for a whole year?"

Alright, that ticked off even Makoto and apparently Ichika and Maya were the only ones who noticed it as Cecillia kept on rambling.

"In terms of ability, it's obvious that I should be the class representative. It'll be troubling if some rare far-east monkey is to be chosen because he is a rare breed! I came to this island country to polish up my IS skills, and I have no interest in joining a circus!"

Didn't she realize that the majority of her classmate came from the far east? Makoto is trying his best not to take a pencil and murder the girl with a pencil through her skull. Ichika and Maya are sweating as they watch Makoto smile in a scary way.

"Isn't that right!? Only the most talented can be the class representative, and I'm the most suitable one! In the first place, living in such a country with an underdeveloped level of culture is excruciatingly painful for me—"

And Makoto snapped. Cecilia cannot finish her sentence as a book flew past her, barely missing her by an inch, and embeded itself into the wall. Everyone was shocked when they saw Makoto with a murderous look on his face. Makoto is mild-mannered but if there is anything that could tick him off is empty pride. You DO NOT insult people who could murder you twenty times over and she had indirectly insult him, his country, and the very reason she could even come to this school in the first place.

She definitely didn't remember that IS was invented by both Shinonono Tabane and Shijou Yuki, the ones she called 'far-east monkey'. Plus, he had seen her performance in the entrance exam. She's a good shot but compared to some other representative candidate he had faced in the past or even Maya herself, she sucks. There are terrorists who could pilot IS better than her and some of them are now nothing more than bloodstain on his IS' weapons… or his own hand.

"That's it you fuckin brit bitch! If you think yourself so high and mighty, I have no need for you in my class!"

"Wha...!?"

Everyone was stunned at Makoto's outburst but he finally took a deep breath and calm himself. It doesn't work much but at least he won't be shouting again.

"Unfortunately that would be counterproductive. So you think yourself high and mighty ehh, you, a mere candidate with no real experience?"

Cecilia was outraged at the not-so-subtle insult but she had to remember who she's facing. If it were any other male then she could care less but this is Yuuki Makoto, two times champion of Mondo Grosso tournament with ability on par with Orimura Chifuyu. This is one male she CANNOT cross. She had seen him fight and at her current level, she would be demolished.

"Sensei, please calm down, you're scaring everyone else."

Ichika try to reason with Makoto and thankfully, he took another deep breath and is now back to his normal self. Ichika and Maya breathe out in relief. Makoto is patient and generally friendly but Ichika knew there are things that ticked him and arrogance is one he hates the most. Ichika had seen what he had done to a terrorist fighting him two years and gloated about her skill in an IS. He slowly dismember BOTH the enemy unit and its pilot without allowing his enemy to counter. It turns out the pilot is a novice and when she begs for mercy, Makoto cut her head while smiling scarily.

Makoto doesn't like arrogant people, he hates arrogant people without the skill to back it up even more and to him, Cecillia Alcott is nothing but a mere fledgling pilot who never knew what the world is really like.

"Now, since you seem so eager to prove yourself, let's decide the representative this way. Alcott, you will face Orimura Ichika next Monday in the 3rd Arena."

"Ehh, wait, I'm dueling her?!"

Ichika stood up in surprise but Makoto only need to glare at him once for the boy to back down. Ichika got back to his seat and kept his mouth zipped. A pissed off Makoto is someone he doesn't want to cross. It's bad for his health. Ichika instead turn his attention to his other childhood friend whom he only realized was there when she approached him during lunch break.

Shinonono Houki is averting her gaze from Makoto and instead seems to find something interesting outside the window.

"Alcott, I really would like to fight you myself but it wouldn't be fair so Orimura will fight you in my place. He's something like an apprentice to me. If you truly cannot accept the vote then defy it, not with your voice or opinion that I could care less but with a show of force. You are a representative candidate which means you are a soldier and soldiers don't whine like a bratty princess, do you understand me?"

Cecillia silently nodded. That's right, she's a soldier now, she cannot whine. If she wants to prove something, it will be through her action. She might not be able to fight Makoto right now but she will prove that she's the best one step at a time and that first step is by defeating Orimura Ichika.

After that, the lesson continue silently as Makoto told Maya to continue while he return to his work with Astrea. He will need to finish the unit before next Monday. Makoto smirked. He'll be getting some precious data sooner than he though.

* * *

Ichika wanted to whine but he knew he couldn't. After all, what's done is done and it's all necessary. That doesn't mean that he has to like it. But… he had chosen to walk this path together with his friend and sister. He won't second guess now.

The sole male student led by the only male teacher head to the dorm after class ended. Makoto is showing Ichika his new dorm room. The two of them stopped in front of the room labeled 0096. Ichika opened the door to see a room that's no different from a room in an expensive hotel.

"…isn't this too much for a student dorm? They even include a state-of-the-art pc."

"Don't ask me, I'm not the one who designed this place and I'm not the one who handles the budget."

Ichika saw that all his things had been delivered and put his bag on the bed. It's soft and fluffy he could fall asleep right at that moment due to how comfortable it is. Then he noticed that the room has another bed. Makoto answer the unasked question.

"Students usually live together in pairs. Of course, being the only male student in the academy, you got a room all to yourself. It's not like we can put you together with a girl, right?"

Ichika nodded at the explanation. But then something else came up to his mind.

"What about teachers then? "

Makoto visibly blanched at the innocent question and his expression became a little complicated.

"Makoto?"

"…I was forced to stay with a student last year."

"…"

"…"

"…let's not speak about this again."

"Yeah, let's not."

Ichika dropped onto his bed, a little tired after what happened in class. He didn't expect to get a duel in his hand so soon and it's just his first day. But at least he's confident he wouldn't make a fool of himself by doing something stupid. He's not really confident that he would win. He had never won in a spar in and out of an IS with Makoto and Chifuyu but those two are in a league of their own and he certainly won't be catching up to either of them anytime soon.

But as a result, he doesn't know how he measures to anyone else. He knows he's good but how good? He's actually looking forward to next Monday. Not only will he finally fight with his own personal IS, he can finally see how he measures up to the rest of the world. Maybe then he will know how useful he will be to Makoto and Chifuyu.

"…you're looking forward to the duel."

Makoto guessed what he's thinking.

"Ahaha, is it that obvious?"

"You have that stupid grin on your face. Just don't do anything stupid and you'll be fine."

"Don't worry, I'm no longer that idiot boy that needs to be saved. I'll show you what I can do."

"Really? Then instead of laying around, read this."

Makoto tossed Ichika his terminal. Ichaka caught it and look at what Makoto gave him. It's data on his new IS. A close-mid range IS with standard weaponry relying more on speed and maneuverability along with the pilot's skill instead of special features weapons or equipments. Its main feature though is that it is a 4th generation IS unit that could use one-off ability in its first shift.

His very own Infinite Stratos unit and his future partner

Makoto left Ichika to read through the specs and weaponry of the Astrea. When he exited the room, his eyes is suddenly covered by a familiar hand. He wanted to grumble immediately but immediately forget it when he felt a pair of breasts being pressed onto his back.

"Guess who~"

That singsong voice with a hint of seductiveness, he could never forget the student that gave him the most trouble last year and the one he personally fought. He immediately grab the hand and spun on his feet as he face the girl who became the source of his woes in his first year. He then flicked the girl's forehead and kicked her feet, making her lose balance and fell on her butt with a cute yelp.

"I told you not to do that every single time you meet me on campus or in the dorms."

"Muu~ but it's fun and you can admit that you actually like it."

"Please, act your age and status and not like a little kid. Well at least I won't be meeting you as frequent as last year, that's a bonus."

The girl stood up and came face to face with the teacher, red eyes staring at him from behind a lock of blue hair. Her trademark mischievous smile hidden behind her blue fan really made Makoto want to bop her on the head.

He hates dealing with Sarashiki Tatenashi.

* * *

 **I honestly have nothing to say for this chapter nor any excuse if it turns out unsatisfying. Anyway, war preparation is starting. The duel will either be next chapter or the one after that. I really want to end Cecillia's arc. Ohh and for Ichika's main heroine, I'm thinking about either Charlotte or Laura since out of the five main, those two have more reasonable personality. I'm leaning more towards Charlotte though.**

 **Now as for Makoto's girls... well, I have no idea other than his original main girl. Well, forget about that. I'll just think of some things when I have the time. He had set up a flag with Maya though.**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov: I've found a few male teacher IS fic but not many enough. It's mostly student and the pairing is not to my liking. Now here we have a glance of Makoto and Chifuyu's relationship. Non-romantic though.**

 **Adamantium-Soldier74: I want it to be more realistic mecha like Gundam and Macross in feeling instead of a comedic harem stuff. That one ruins Infinite Stratos' impressive setting. And Ichika's new unit will be armed sufficiently. Byakushiki Setsura is good but it is still an unbalanced unit so Astrea will be replacing it. It is armed like a standard Gundam. And as for his harem... I honestly only like Charlotte and Laura. The other sucks. Choosing Houki is probably the worst thing he could do. IS girls has no distinct personality like Issei's harem in DxD. I'm planning to fix that though.**

 **ochen50: 2 geniuses at the pinnacle but just the two of them won't be fun. I have some things planned that will make both Yuki and Tabane struggle with all their strength. One of those factor that makes them struggle is Makoto. He's smart and strong enough to become a teacher in IS academy at his age.**

 **giacomoX: Kinda around 16 or 17 depending on his birthday but yeah, he would've been a second year high school student and like the previous version, would've been Tatenashi's classmate. He's the homeroom teacher though.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for taking too long. Been busy with DxD and stuff. Alright, let's get this over with.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Enter Tatenashi**

It is a sight that first year students will find strange but second year and above are used to by now, the sight of Yuuki Makoto being close with a particular student. That particular student it the student council president, Sarashiki Tatenashi, and for those who had been attending IS academy since last year would know that the student council president was Makoto's roommate before he got his own quarters and she seem to make it her mission to stick close to him whenever she can.

The upper years are still wondering if he actually like her or not since even if sometimes he look annoyed, he never made any real attempt to get away from her. For Makoto though, it's a semblance of normal life. He should still be a student after all and spending time with his students give that feeling that he's one of them, even if it's not real.

"So what kind of life's agony are you bringing to me now, Tatenashi?"

"Muu~~ Do I need a reason to visit my previous roommate?"

"When said roommate is a teacher, yes. Plus because of you I'm behind schedule on all my designs. Two months behind schedule actually."

At least Tatenashi does look sorry when he mentioned that. When they're still rooming together, there was one incident where she playfully snatched his tablet and after a little chasing, it fell into the bathtub that Tatenashi is filling for her bath and back then he had a bad habit of not having any backup data online or offline for fear of his data being stolen and he lost all data when his tablet short circuited… totally fried to be exact. Luckily, he managed to salvage some data after repairing his tablet but many data were lost.

Since then, he learned his lesson and made backups. It was actually stubbornness and confidence that prevents him from making backups. He believed that it is unnecessary and nothing could happen. Well he was proven wrong and now he made backups, make his electronic equipments all waterproof, AND made sure Tatenashi is not around when he's working.

And said work that got held back for four months was the Astrea so yeah, he's pissed off beyond belief back then and he's still a little sore about that incident.

"I said I'm sorry."

"But you still made me waste 2 months. Astrea should've been complete 2 months ago."

"I'm sorry."

Well at least she's genuinely sorry. Plus seeing Tatenashi looking down like she is now is strange. He's used to her being this bundle of energy and mischievousness that sometimes gets on his nerves. So that's why he decided to treat her to dinner today. It's something they used to do back when he had just come to IS academy.

It also made him suspect that she faked her sadness to get free dinner but at this point it doesn't matter to him. Just another day with Tatenashi which he actually enjoy.

"So, Astrea was meant for Ichika-kun?"

"What, you think I made it for you?"

"Maybe~ I'm your favorite student after all."

"Ichika is my favorite student. I'm giving him an IS after all."

"Mou, sensei, you can't play favorites! Others might get jealous!"

"And you won't say that if I gave you Astrea."

"I'm the student council president after all ~ "

Tatenashi winked playfully while Makoto just rolled his eyes and continue with his dinner. This kind of conversation is what goes on between them nearly everyday last year.

"Is that even a reason? Plus, if I'm giving you an IS, I would've named it Hecate."

"Hecate? As in the goddess of magic?"

"Your use of Gustoi Touman Moskowa's nanomachines is impressive. You know your element well and can use them to your advantage and you used them like you can use water magic. You could've lasted longer if you're not overconfident… or if both your spear and sword skill are up to standard."

"Your standard you mean?"

"…yes."

Tatenashi pouted while Makoto smirked knowing full well that Makoto's the superior swordsman. So far Makoto had only dared enter the field himself once and that is against Tatenashi. After all, she's talented enough to gain the status of representative, not a candidate but a full representative. Of course, he was younger when he reached that level but he is a Shijou.

On average, his battle usually lasted three to four minutes against his opponents (faster if he's going for a kill and ignore safety) but Tatenashi's skill in her IS is impressive and her use of her IS' special ability is prodigious that he battled her for almost seven minutes before he could strike her down. granted it took longer since he was using an older model, the Uchigane, but he should've beaten her faster than that through sheer experience. He has real combat experience after all and his kill count is in the two digits… not that anyone but those involved knew that.

"On a lighter note though, how's your class?"

"Hmm… it's not as great as it was with you, sensei."

Tatenashi began telling him how the teacher is mostly average and reciting common knowledge from the book and stayed with materials on the book unlike what he did last year. When he first started, Makoto need to teach both theory and practicals and Tatenashi enjoyed his lectures.

She apparently like how Makoto would get technical from time to time and go on to IS engineering and he explain things in a way that is easy to understand. The current teacher is not as fun though and clearly knew less than Makoto. Then again, a former pilot cannot compare to an engineer in the theoretical department and Makoto is both a pilot and an engineer.

"That's too bad… but I hope I could see you sitting in class feeling bored. That gives me a reason to smack your head with a book."

"Violence against student is prohibited, sensei~"

"Hmph, like I care, especially if the student is you. Anyway, I have a request for you."

"A request?"

Tatenashi tilted her head and place a finger on her chin in a cute pose. Makoto of course completely ignore the girl playing cute and immediately get to the heart of the business. He didn't even give Tatenashi time to pout at his lack of reaction.

"I want you to be Ichika's sparring partner."

"Ichika-kun's sparring partner? But you can do that, right?"

"I don't have a personal IS."

"True. But you can…"

Makoto did not bother giving her any argument and just stare at her like she's stupid.

"…Playing favorites, right. But won't it be seen as playing favorites if I train him? And you're also giving him a personal IS."

"You're a student, I'm a teacher. It doesn't matter if another student gives him a helping hand. The worst that could happen is just a rumor that you like Ichika. And my status as an engineer is another matter entirely."

Tatenashi pouted when Makoto casually made light of the consequences of her training Ichika which is, like Makoto said, a rumor about her liking Ichika will go around. Somehow that thought irked her. She CAN refuse his request but he rarely made request to her and she did cause some trouble for him in her first year with some of their shenanigans.

"Alright but you owe me."

"Great! Then let's…"

"You owe me a date for this."

"Yeah yeah su- wait, what?"

When Makoto turn to Tatenashi once again, she has that smug grin he hates so much plastered on her face. He just realized he'd been had.

"W-w-what?!"

"You owe me a date, Makoto-sensei~"

With the smile of a cheshire cat, Tatenashi began clinging to Makoto. Again, a normal thing to the older years but the first years are burning with jealousy with how close she is to the teacher.

"Dammit Tatenashi! I'm a teacher!"

"But we're the same age so it doesn't matter~"

Makoto sighs. It's best to not argue too much with her or his headache will become worse. It's just another day in life with his old roommate. To be honest, he does miss having to deal with her. He won't admit it to anyone though, not even himself.

"…I'll only agree if you can make Ichika win."

"Giving up so quickly?"

"I find it easier to just go along with your craziness."

"Then it's a deal!"

* * *

-1st day of training-

"Uhh, what?"

"Ichika, meet your trainer, Sarashiki Tatenashi."

Ichika sent an incredulous look at his bespectacled friend who is giving the finishing touch to his friend's IS unit. Then he went back to the senior student who's giving him a friendly wave and a big smile from beside Makoto. The teacher introduced her as Sarashiki Tatenashi and that's it. Ichika assumes that she's not just any ordinary student though. If he really wants to get training done, regular student won't do since Ichika has better skill but if she's, for example, a representative candidate. Then it would be another thing entirely.

"Uhh, pleasure working with you, Sarashiki-senpai."

"So this is Orimura Ichika-kun, the first male student of IS academy."

Ichika felt as if the girl is examining his whole body and he stood up straight tensely. She's judging him. It's the same feeling he got from his sister and Makoto and whoever his sparring partner was when he did kendo. She's sizing him up.

"He seems well disciplined."

"Chifuyu and I trained him, well, I train him more but you get the picture."

"I can imagine."

From the short exchange, Ichika could tell that Makoto and this senior is quite close that they could speak so casually with each other. Perhaps she's one of his students from the previous year?

"Ano…"

Ichika slowly raise his hand up.

"Yes Ichika-kun?"

Tatenashi ask, calling him with his first name which Ichika also took note of. This senpai seems friendly.

"I know sensei won't just introduce anyone to become my sparring partner but can senpai introduce herself so I can know who my partner is?"

Makoto gestured her to go ahead so Tatenashi introduce herself.

"I'm Sarashiki Tatenashi, second year student of IS academy and also the student council president."

"She's also the strongest 'STUDENT' in the academy which is how she can become student council president in the first place. She's also the representative of Russia."

Makoto added when Tatenashi didn't appear to want to continue her introduction.

"Wait, she's the strongest student in the academy? And don't you mean representative candidate?"

Makoto shook his head.

"I meant what I said, she's a representative, not a candidate. If you could get even half of her shield down or even a third, that Cecillia bitch would be a piece of cake. Tatenashi is not a candidate, she's a representative and her skill is the real deal."

Ichika gulped. Figure that Makoto would give him someone like a real representative to fight. Representatives are what you call as ace pilots, the REAL ace pilots of each country. They are the best the world has to offer and the only ones above them are the Brunhildes, the champions, the top gun whose skill have been proven against other aces.

True if Ichika could adequately face a representative then a candidate wouldn't be too hard to best but… so far his training are all just basic trainings. He could do some basic moves and maneuvers but that's it. How's he supposed to fight a representative?

"That's right, I'm the representative of Russia so prepare yourself to be trained thoroughly I. Chi. Ka –kun. And what do you mean by emphasizing the 'student' part, sensei?"

"So you wouldn't get it to your head that you're invincible or something. I beat you without any weapon at all, remember?"

"But who would've expect you to throw away your only weapon in combat?!"

"Exactly! And that's why you're defeated."

Tatenashi grumble about some things unfair and cheater but Makoto ignore her and walk up to Ichika.

"Ichika, you better make this worth it since I put myself on the line unleashing a she-devil here. Make it worth the trouble or else."

Ichika gulped at the veiled threat Makoto made. He didn't know what happen and he really doesn't want to know now. All he could think of now is to make best of the training session with Tatenashi or Makoto would make him regret being alive. His old friend's threat is hardly idle. He knew it from experience.

"I've asked for a Raphael Revive for you to use. It's equipped with the same type of weapons you will use. Of course what I mean is the handheld weapons. Start with shooting first."

With that, Orimura Ichika's one week training starts.

* * *

-shooting-

Holding a pair of semi-auto rifles, Ichika fired at Tatenashi who's in her light blue IS, the Mysterious Lady. It's a lot different with any other Infinite Stratos Ichika had seen before, especially with that translucent wing-like things behind her that Makoto said is the IS' special feature. He won't be seeing it in action though since Tatenashi is restricted to only long range attack too for this session.

"Come on, hit dammit!"

Ichika is frustrated that not even a single bullet grazed Tatenashi. She's good alright but he even missed when she slow down her speed. The reason why she's not even close to getting hit is because Ichika is not a good shot.

"Shoot only when on mark Ichika-kun or you're just wasting bullet!"

Tatenashi told him. Well, he's getting closer to hitting her with each minute. He won't be a sniper anytime soon but at least he won't shoot himself in the feet. Little did Tatenashi know that Ichika did shot himself in the feet the first time he held a gun.

* * *

-evasion-

Evasive training went much better than shooting. Apparently Ichika has good reflex. For this training, Makoto provided eight drones that will be controlled by him to support Tatenashi. Ichika's objective is simple. Survive from the assault by multiple enemies. If he could survive for more than ten minutes, the evasive training would end.

"Waa!"

Ichika was almost hit from a shot by one of the drones. He also barely avoid a shot from Tatenashi from the front. His shield energy had been depleted to less than half and it's barely five minutes through. It is commendable though. His opponent is a representative and the one who is controlling the drones is a top gun after all.

"Try to do the immelmann turn, corkscrew, or whatever. Flying straight round and round would just get you shot down, Ichika."

Makoto said from the communicator.

"Ohh and we'll continue doing this until you reach at least the ten minutes goal I've set."

Explosion and wailing could be heard in the arena that day. Some even said that they hear the scary laughter of a certain male teacher and student council president pair.

* * *

-close combat-

Ichika is relieved that he's finally in his best area, swordsmanship. He doubted he could beat Tatenashi but she shouldn't be better than Makoto. Now Ichika can finally see the lance she's been using in real action for the first time. He held a pair of swords in his hands. Dual wielding, he had only done it a few times before but since his unit apparently will be equipped with a pair of swords, he should start getting used to the style.

Unlike the previous two subjects, Ichika clashes with Tatenashi near evenly this time. He's more familiar and comfortable in close range. Tatenashi is a tough opponent. With her large spear she could block both his swords and still manage to attack him using another part by swinging correctly.

But Ichika shows his skill by keeping up with her for more than ten minutes. His energy is down to 1/3 but he could still keep up. He tries to anticipate her every moves and although struggling, he managed to defend from getting any major damage. Tatenashi is not showing everything but Makoto is already impressed by Ichika's capability in close combat.

'If Ichika managed to disable all her long range weapons, Blue Tears is as good as dead. Cecillia, from what I observed in her match against her proctor, prefers long range and her file hinted inadequacy in close range.'

Still, even if Ichika is good in close combat, Makoto did not stop them from continuing their spar. There is always room for improvement after all and Ichika need to get used to dual wielding.

* * *

-open combat-

There's only two days left and Tatenashi advised that the best use for the remaining time is an open combat training to see how far Ichika had gone in their training. Makoto still forbids Tatenashi from using her IS' special feature since it will be unfair to Ichika to fight her at her strongest but other than that, she is allowed to fight however she wants.

Of course, the battles ended up with Ichika losing but each time he manage to either deplete more of Tatenashi's shield energy or force her to take things up a notch. For two days straight Ichika fought the representative of Russia and he will always lose but even then, he could feel that each battle that ended he had improved. It was proven when in their final spar, Ichika managed to get almost half of Tatenashi's shield energy.

Orimura Ichika is ready.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap. So it's the introduction of a main character and Ichika's training. Short but I don't have time for long shits. Next chapter will be Ichika vs Cecillia. Cannon divergence will happen in Silverio Gospel arc. And it's sudden but I've decided that Charlotte will be Ichika's main girl. I have a surprise for that particular meeting.**

 **Now for the revs.**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov: Uhh, I don't like Tatenashi? Dude, she's the main heroine much like Xenovia is in my DxD stories. Well, not that I like her as much as Xenovia. And Makoto being able to stop both geniuses? In an equal machine, Makoto's best hope would be a stalemate against either Yuki or Tabane. He can't really fight even one of them, let alone both. He just have better chances than most. And yes, I admit that the tongue lashing he gave Cecillia is overkill but he has temper. As for Ichika's unit, Byakushiki is good but for the long run in this story, it would be useless unless Ichika's skill reach super ace level which is where Makoto and Chifuyu belongs. Byakushiki cannot fight for a long time while a war will have battles of attrition. Byakushiki cannot function fully without Akatsubaki's kenran butou which will hinder Ichika in this story hence the new unit. As for Harem, I'll pull something interesting off. I do that frequently in my DxD stories. Shouldn't be too hard here too if I adjust a few things, mainly, less yandere mode. Like they'll have time for school girl romance once this story enters the stage where it lives up to the title anyway. And as for OC x Chifuyu, that won't happen. Friendship between opposite gender without leading to romance is possible. I don't like it when girls fall for the main character for no reason other than being a major character in the story.**

 **duked: In a story where super aces will appear from time to time and can equal and even beat Makoto and Chifuyu? Yes, her equal and more can be found somewhere in the world. Chifuyu is not an ultimate, unsurpassable wall here and neither is Makoto. Yuki and Tabane are. And Makoto and Chifuyu can never work. Age difference is one thing and their personality just won't match in the end.**

 **Yes, that's all I think. Super aces and ace pilots will appear when shit gets real. Enjoy Makoto and Chifuyu's superiority for now because when shit goes down, this will become a war story.**


	4. Chapter 4

**And here is a new chapter featuring Ichika vs Cecillia. Ichika's new IS in action.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Flight of the White Knight**

-day of the match-

"So that's Astrea."

Chifuyu look at Ichika's form equipped with his new IS. She has to sigh, thinking that maybe brother and sister are not so different after all. It is certainly a powerful unit from its look alone. It has high spec according to the data and can fight at multiple range proficiently.

The unit's base color is white with blue as its secondary color. It looks mostly like 00 Qan[T] which is where Makoto got his design idea from. Its most distinguishing feature is its two wing binders shaped nearly exactly like the Qan[T]'s binder. Its legs is reminiscent to said gundam and so does the arms though instead of single armored arms like Qan[T]'s right arm, both arms are armored.

"…it looks like Gundam 00 Qan[T]."

"I designed it based on that gundam. Of course, it's not equipped with sword bits though I might upgrade it later if Ichika evolves into a Newtype or something. Anyway, the binders are the main feature of this unit. If the shield lifts up, it will produce a defense field that will focus on the direction where the shield is pointed."

"Why not use an AIC?"

Chifuyu asked.

"AIC has one main weakness, the pilot has to focus on one target and is vulnerable to a multi-direction attack from another enemy. This one doesn't as each shield fully deployed could form a half-sphere defense. Deploy both and it's a perfect defense. Now, another feature would be its two canons; the auto canon that has lower output but high rate of fire which is located at the top part of the shield and the heavy canon mode that can shoot a single but powerful beam blast at the bottom part. The output of the heavy canon can be increased by expanding the size of the barrel and in the right configuration, could destroy an IS in a single shot."

"…did you just say that the unit has the power to destroy an IS in a single hit? Does it even possess the energy to do that?"

"In normal circumstances? No. I put safeties so unless it is life battle that mode cannot be used."

Chifuyu felt relief at Makoto's explanation. She then look back at Ichika in Astrea. Her brother deployed the unit's handheld weapon, a pair of light blue rifles. Chifuyu read the information on her tablet and found the info for that weapon. The AR-30A 'Executor' rifles with variable output. It has a three-burst mode and its maximum output is equal in firepower to a small cannon.

"This unit is impressive."

"Of course, by power and ability alone it is a complete 4th generation IS unit."

"…what?"

"It has a one-off ability but I strictly forbid Ichika to use it or the unit's full power at this stage."

"Ichika-kun should be able to defeat a candidate-level pilot, especially the lower tier pilots, with only standard weaponries. If I have to rank him, he's mid tier candidate level and is close to high tier."

A new voice added. Sarashiki Tatenashi joined them in the conversation, waiting for Ichika to launch. As his trainer, Tatenashi is confident that Ichika will win even with his IS being limited. Astrea's basic spec is already above her own Mysterious Lady and with the training they did, Ichika couldn't lose.

"Now we'll just sit back and gather some data. The only way Ichika could lose is if screw up big time."

* * *

"Ichika, are you ready?"

Ichika heard Makoto's voice through the communicator. He tried moving his IS to get a good feel of how it moves. It is perfect. Unlike with the Revive, Astrea's movement is much smoother and feels better. The whole IS feels like a part of himself. With Astrea, Ichika finally feels complete.

"Yes, I'm ready."

"Good. Remember, this is also a test for you. Defeat your opponent without resorting to the special weapons."

"Roger that."

Doing one final system check, Astrea confirms that the system is all green. Preparing himself to launch, Ichika dismisses his left hand rifle and prepped his boosters. Once the signal went from red to green, he went out at full throttle.

"…at least he didn't use ignition boost to launch."

Makoto commented with a shrug. He took a cup of coffee and sit back, eyes straight to the monitor showing Ichika and Cecillia. At this moment, someone else entered the room. Makoto doesn't have to look back to know who would come to see Ichika's match.

"So… come to see Ichika's match, Houki-chan?"

Shinonono Houki immediately felt like she'd made a mistake coming when she saw Makoto's smile.

Meanwhile Ichika is now airborne and facing Cecillia Alcott. She's in her IS, Blue Tears. According to the data he got, Blue Tears is a long-range unit equipped with missiles and a sniper rifle as well as BTs, or in the more familiar term to him, an equivalent to funnels.

Ichika is a little bit disappointed that despite his IS taking design from the Qan[T], he is not equipped with sword bits. He's not sure he could use it even if his unit is equipped with a set but no one can blame him for hoping. It would be an interesting sight to have sword bits slashing her BTs.

"Oh my, so you didn't run away."

Cecilia snorted as she placed her hand on her hip, giving off that princess vibe again. Ichika can see why Makoto is easily irritated by her attitude. Even he is starting to get irritated and Ichika knows he is one of the most patient people around.

The arena was 200m in diameter, and the estimated time for a fired shot to reach the target was about 0.4 seconds. The bell indicating the start of the match has already rung, so it was not strange for an attack to come anytime now.

"I'll give you one last chance."

Cecilia moved the hand that was on her hip and pointed her finger at Ichika, the muzzle of her rifle casually pointed downwards. She's not taking things seriously. Makoto had taught him to be serious when in battle as it could be the thing that decides whether he would walk out alive, injured, or in a body bag. So seeing that Cecillia is really not taking this seriously… Ichika has no problem taking the first shot.

Ichika knows that Cecillia is prepared and targeting but a split second decision could make all the difference. And that's why it was Ichika who managed to get the first hit. Blue Tears' sensor caught Ichika's movement but the posture each pilot takes decided the first hit and it does not belong to Cecillia.

Cecillia fired her Starlight MkIII only a split second later. The result is Cecillia getting hit while Ichika managed to dodge due to his training. Being the first to get hit made Cecillia angry.

"You! That's a cowardly move!"

"The battle start once the bell rang. You only have yourself to blame for wasting time and not taking this seriously."

Ichika casually replied as he uses ignition boost to suddenly appear in front of Cecillia. Using his free left hand, he pulled out one of Astrea's swords. It is a slim longsword coated with purple energy. Ichika with his superiority in close combat hacked Cecillia quickly before she could escape. As Makoto guessed, Cecillia is not good at close range and despite having a cqc weapon, she did not deploy it or could not deploy it quick enough, signifying its lack of use.

Furthermore, due to the panic, Cecillia blocked Ichika's first slash with her rifle. The slash was strong and the sword is of high quality and managed to break through the shielding and slashed the rifle deep enough. Ichika let go of the sword and drew another one with the same hand and knock the rifle away, its damage making it explode before slashing Cecillia herself.. She did not expect Ichika to be capable at all in piloting an IS and now she's paying the price.

"Battlefield is not a place where you play around."

Ichika said to Cecillia as he kick her away. Once they made some distance, Ichika open fire with both of his auto-canons along with his rifle. With no rifle to counterattack with, Cecillia is forced to stay on the defensive. Ichika uses his auto-canons to box Cecillia, limiting her movement, while he concentrates on shooting with his rifle.

* * *

"…she's much too arrogant for her own good despite being a newbie."

Tatenashi whispered to Makoto. Cecillia is still a fresh candidate with little experience. She has talent but her small victory of being able to become a candidate seems to get to her head. Makoto and Chifuyu agree with her. If there is one thing that could hinder someone's potential it is arrogance. Tatenashi had learnt her lesson when Makoto defeated her. But even Tatenashi was not as arrogant as Cecillia.

That is what makes all the difference and why Ichika is winning against Cecillia seemingly with no contest. The mentality of the pilots. Cecilllia thought that she's superior and was willing to go easy. Her arrogance blinded her, that and… something else. Ichika meanwhile is much different. He stepped into the world of IS prepared for a true battlefield. He had witnessed the brutality of the real world far from the safety of rules and regulations. Makoto had beat it into him during their training. A true battlefield is about life and death. Ichika had seen the bloods shed behind the scene. He might have never killed but his mind is more prepared than Cecillia.

"I'm surprised he's not making any mistake."

Chifuyu commented. So far she's satisfied with Ichika's battle. His preemptive strike along with quick use of ignition boost to get into his preferred range had managed to decide the battle. The unit's spec does play a role as it is much faster than normal but so far Ichika gains advantage through his skill and tactics. Depraving his opponent of their main weapon and limiting her movement, that's impressive.

Houki is also surprised like Chifuyu and perhaps awed. She also can't help but steal glances at Makoto. Like Ichika, she also knew Makoto from when they were young but she's never very close to him. She knew that Makoto is behind Ichika's performance. Just like all those years ago, Houki can't help but feel unneeded. Compared to Makoto, his sister, her own sister, and Chifuyu, she's just an ordinary girl.

* * *

Cecillia is really just waiting for her shield energy to be depleted. With her main weapon gone and Ichika being surprisingly skilled, Cecillia has no other option than to evade. She'd shot him with her rocket launcher twice but he evaded them all. She's of course not stupid enough to engage him in close combat. It's clear that Ichika is better in cqc than shooting and going in close will only result in her defeat coming quicker.

BTs is also not advisable. Ichika's unit is fast and from how he moves he is no amateur. He only needs to avoid the BTs and get in close and Cecillia is finished. She's starting to regret not taking him seriously and now she's being pushed back without getting the chance to counterattack. Cecillia's blood is starting to boil. She cannot accept losing to Ichika without getting a single hit in. So she put more distance between her and Ichika and unleashes all her BTs.

Putting all her mind into it, Cecillia unleashes a barrage of beams at Ichika. He easily dodge them even though some are more difficult than the other but using his unit's speed and agility Ichika has yet to be hit. Some beams grazed him but it did not do any major damage. Suddenly the evasion training using multiple drones began to make more sense.

Ichika also noticed that Cecillia is not moving one bit, trying her hardest to keep Ichika at bay with a barrage of beam shots. She also uses her rocket launcher at an interval but so far she had made no significant damage. Ichika's shield energy had only been depleted by sixty four since the beginning from some grazes and close calls but never a direct hit. Cecillia meanwhile is already in the red.

'This can't be. It's impossible. How can he be so good?'

Cecillia mentally cursed as she keep up her barrage. Ichika meanwhile decided that enough is enough and put his shield binders in position so his auto-canons are facing forward. Pulling the invisible trigger in his mind, Ichika fired. He might not be a great shot but he kept moving and with the rate of fire his weapon possess, he will get a lucky hit sooner or later.

Sooner is more correct since Cecillia's mental strain became greater and she made a mistake when maneuvering her BTs. Two BTs accidentally got in Ichika's line of fire and was destroyed. With two BTs down and the temporary shock, Ichika move in close, destroying two more BTs along the way with his sword and rifle. Cecillia tries to run away but at this moment, Ichika decided to use the second secret of his wing binder. Locking on to Cecillia, one of Ichika's binder rotate forward.

A large beam shot out from Ichika's binder hitting Blue Tears' right side, penetrating its shield. Even if it's only a glancing hit, the firepower Ichika unleashed is great enough to tear through Blue tears' remaining shield.

The match ended with Ichika's victory.

* * *

Makoto left the moment the buzzer rang. Ichika struggled a bit in the end but he did well. It would've been a harder fight if his preemptive strike did not destroy Cecillia's rifle but he still would've won. For now, he receives a passing grade from Makoto.

As Makoto walk out from the hanger, Houki followed him. She look as if she wanted to say something but she hesitates. Houki was never any good in interacting with Makoto. He's different from Ichika so her usual attitude will only get her kicked in the face. That happened once in the past and she doesn't want to find out if he still does that.

In the end, Houki did not say anything and went back to the hangar, passing by Tatenashi.

"Ichika did really well back there."

Tatenashi said.

"True. He also use Astrea nicely. He could do better but it's good enough for now."

Tatnashi nodded and follow Makoto. She's a little surprised when she realized that Makoto is not returning to his room but went to the other side of the arena. He is walking to Cecillia's hangar.

"Now let's speak with the bratty princess."

"I hope you can be civil this time, sensei."

* * *

 **Short and simple... and honestly too easy for Ichika. Then again, this is Cecillia. Ichika almost won when he was only a beginner with no training. This is a trained Ichika with a powerful IS so he would win much faster, especially when he took the initiative. This doesn't make Ichika a super ace or anything though. Cecillia has always been considered the weakest out of the heroines and even after S2 she's not much better until she encounters Madoka in Zephyrus and learn new tricks. This Ichika is prepared and not so cocky so he's much better and his IS is more advanced than Byakushiki. Defeating Cecillia so quickly is not surprising so please don't hate me for making it seems easy because at that point in time, Cecillia does suck.**

 **Now let's talk about Ichika's new IS, the Astrea. A trivia, 00 Qan[T] is based on the development line of Exia which is based on the 2nd Generation Gundam, Astrea. Ichika's IS has two shield binders as opposed to Qan[T]'s single binder. The auto-canon is located on the shield right in what should be Qan[T]'s beam gun. The heavy canon mode is the bottom part and the long blade bits in docking mode serves as barrel. Of course, the blade part of the bits were omited and the actual canon is what the GN drives were. If you have an RG or MG 00Qan[T] then you could see that if you position the shield binder right with the GN drives showing, it could make something that looks like a canon so that's what this canon is. I happen to have an RG Qan[T] and I got the idea there. Astrea has the same color scheme as 00Qan[T] so imagining the IS unit won't be so hard. Ichika's arms is covered in the same way as Qan[T]'s right arm if you wonder what I mean by armor.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I decided to skip out on Cecillia and Makoto's talk. It's just some small things that will lead to the same result as in cannon anyway. So how's Ichika's IS? He used more weapons than he should but whatever, my mistake. Now for more new character!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos or any character I kidnapped from other series.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Chall Acustica**

"Well then, let's start practicing some basic IS maneuvers. Orimura, Alcott, try flying with your ISs."

It was near the end of April, and Makoto is with his class doing practical outside. It will be their first practical class and everyone is looking forward to it… apart from Ichika that is. He had done this exercise too many times and Makoto knew he's tired with it. Unfortunately, he can't skip since he's one of the few personal IS owner which means he has the obligation to show his fellow students the basics of IS. Following Makoto's instruction, Ichika and Cecillia deploy their IS.

Ahh yes, that is another thing Ichika is rather confused about. Cecillia Alcott, the girl he defeated in his first official match. You would expect her to bear a grudge but surprisingly she seems fine with it and she's even starting to get friendly, especially with him. He suspects an ulterior motive but… it is only a suspicion. He also heard from Tatenashi that Makoto talked to Cecillia and from how she said it with her trademark mischievous smile, Ichika doesn't want to know what happened.

It only took Ichika and Cecillia half a second to deploy their unit. Cecillia is expected to be able to do it as a candidate while Ichika had learn about IS since he was young so deploying an IS is not a problem for him. When in stand-by mode, the IS took on the form of a decoration. In Astrea's case, it takes on the form of a keychain version of its sword.

Piloting an IS is much different from piloting a fighter jet. If he has to describe, piloting an IS is like entering a VR world with all the electronic signals linked to his mind and the surreal feeling of being lighter and, well, above ground. Beside him is Cecillia in her Blue Tears with all its armament complete. She must've had her destroyed weapons replaced.

"Okay, fly."

After Makoto said that, Cecilia immediately got into action. She quickly rose up and stopped high above the ground. Ichika followed suit but ascend faster than Blue Tears due to the superior spec.

"You know, even after all this time, this feeling of flying through the air is still strange to me. How can this thing even fly?"

"I wouldn't mind explaining it, but there's a lot to it which I will cover in the more advanced class and engineering class. You know how in some mecha anime there are machines using gravity device to defy gravity and fly? The principles work roughly the same. Come to my more advanced class if you want to know more."

"…I'll think about it."

Ichika immediately put the idea away. Though he is curious, he's no engineer. The best he could do is calibrating his IS and some minor maintenance and that's already hard enough. Going into details will just hurt his head no matter how good Makoto could explain it.

"Heh, that's a shame."

Despite his answer, Makoto doesn't sound so disappointed. He expected Ichika's answer after all.

"Now fly higher and do some tricks then end it with a perfect touchdown."

Makoto ordered. As the two IS flew to the air, Makoto began his lecture about the basics of IS piloting using the two as demonstration.

"Let me make one add-on. Right now, the sensors are still limited. The IS was originally intended for space activity, and since the IS has to grasp objects at a distance of tens of thousands kilometers. It might sound impressive from your perspective but for space exploration, you need to at least be able to see clearly until the Lagrange points from here that's why it is incomplete."

Makoto added, remembering the sensor capability of the Aoki Senkou. It has a little bit more distance than the current sensor but it is still not enough. Makoto tried going to space with an IS once and well, he felt that the sensory capability is inadequate. The fact that his sister could manage with hers is testament of her luck or skill. Well, you could make do with such sensors actually but with deep space exploration it is dangerous because powerful sensors are needed for intergalactic travel since you need to know the condition of a planet from far away if you want to make a landing and analyze the atmosphere.

Then again, it's not like IS is intended for solo intergalactic travel. At best it is restricted to a single solar system. Again, Makoto doesn't know how his sister managed but Yuki is not really normal. Putting the thought about his sister aside, Makoto gave a new order to Ichika and Cecillia.

"Orimura, Alcott, try doing a sudden dive and then come to a complete halt. The target is 10cm above the ground."

"R-Roger. In that case, I'll be going first."

After saying that, Cecilia immediately dropped towards the ground. She stopped right on the target distance. Ichika followed but with greater speed. Makoto is not worried though. If he crashed, he'll just punish him. But being able to make an acceptable landing at his speed will earn him some points.

Ichika's training with Tatenashi kicked in and he stopped just an inch above the ground. He's off by a few cm but it is acceptable in Makoto's book since he didn't crash like when he first tried to land with an IS.

"That's acceptable. Now deploy your weapons. Orimura, since your sword is stored in the binder, I want you to deploy your rifles. Okay, now do it."

Ichika went first and deploy his weapon. In an instant his rifle appear and in firing position. Again he was trained mercilessly in weapon deployment during his training and that was by continuously deploying rifles after he used up a magazine. Tatenashi did not allow him to reload so the only option is preparing a large number of rifles and exchange them when one magazine was depleted. Thanks to that training, Ichika's weapon deployment speed had reached 0,3 seconds and he always deploy them in ready-to-fire position.

After all, if he cannot deploy his rifle fast enough or in firing position, he'll be victim to Tatenashi's machinegun shot.

"Good. Now Alcott, you go."

Cecillia deploy her Starlight MkIII at the same speed as Ichika with her rifle loaded and ready to fire but…

"…change your pose. Who're you aiming at when you point your gun to the side?"

"Bu-But, but I need to maintain this for my image—"

"Alcott, did you forget that it's exactly that pose that allows Orimura to get the first hit on you during your match?"

Remembering that certain point during the match, Cecilla can only concede to Makoto's order.

"—...yes."

"Good. Now deploy your close range weapon. In Orimura's case, let's see your drawing speed."

Again both of them comply to the order. Ichika went first and reach to the underside of his canon's barrel where his sword is stored. With a single quick swing he drew his sword. Now he's wielding both his rifle and sword just like in the match. This is his standard armament for most situations. He can deploy his second rifle in his other hand for more firepower or a second sword for close combat. It is truly a versatile IS.

Cecillia meanwhile…

"Huh..."

"Isn't it ready yet?"

"It, it'll be ready soon—ahh, damn it! 'Interceptor'!"

She half-reluctantly shouted out her weapon's name. After her focus gathered, the glow shaped into the weapon. Makoto frowned at this. Calling out her weapon's name is a beginner's way to deploy their weapon. He expected her to be slow here but to think she can't even deploy her melee weapon without calling its name, it's humiliating for a representative candidate.

"Slow, very slow. Against an experienced pilot you'll be beaten to a pulp first before you can deploy your weapon. You might as well go for a fist fight with that kind of deployment speed. Do you want the enemy to wait for you in a real battle?"

"In, in a real battle, I wouldn't allow the enemy to enter my range! So, so there would be no problem!"

"Oh? If I recall, that happened not even a minute after the match starts and you even lost your rifle. "

"Th-That, that's because..."

Makoto sighs.

"Excuses won't help you improve. Not just Orimura but a close combat specialist would have tricks on how to engage a long-range specialist. So you will need a backup weapon when your rifle won't cut it anymore. Alcott, I want you to increase your melee weapon deployment speed and improve your close combat skill. You can even consult Ichika since he's a skilled in that area."

Mentioning a training session with Ichika, Cecillia suddenly fidgeted and steal glances at the boy which Ichika noticed. He also noticed her blush and wonder what that's all about. What the hell happened to her to change her attitude completely?

"Alright, class finished, get out of here."

* * *

After dismissing his class, Makoto went back to the teacher's lounge. He's again walking with tablet in hand and planning his next IS design. This one is much simpler though. He's been recruited by Japan to make their representative candidate's IS. Knowing who the pilot is, he already has something in mind for her.

"Sensei, it's not good to walk while playing with your tablet~"

Makoto did not react even one bit when Tatenashi appear from around a corner and join him. It's not surprising. Lately he's been together with Tatenashi a lot. He's not against it as long as she doesn't drag him into anything strange. He doesn't have time to deal with her madness. Plus she makes for a great conversation partner unlike Chifuyu who is rather quiet or Maya who stutters a lot.

Despite his popularity, there are few people Makoto are willing to talk to openly and currently in this whole school, there are only five people he could consider friend. One and two are obviously the Orimura siblings. Then there is Maya, his assistant. And like it or not, Makoto actually consider Tatenashi someone close to him. As for the fifth person… said person is still absent from what he heard. Probably she got held up in the airport or lost her baggage for one reason or another.

"I'm not playing. I'm planning my next project."

"Your next project? You're making a new IS already?"

"The Japanese government asked me."

"The government?"

"Yes, the IS is for someone you know very well, the representative candidate of Japan."

At the mention of that, Tatenashi stopped. Makoto had expected that. Tatenashi knew the representative candidate of Japan even though they haven't spoken in quite a while, probably counting months or even years. After all, the two of them share the same blood. The blue haired girl had an uncharacteristically sad expression.

"You haven't talked to her yet? I told you before I left that you should speak with her."

"…I just don't know what to say. I wan—"

Suddenly, before Tatenashi could finish her sentence, the two of them heard someone screaming the Russian representative's name while running towards them.

"TATENASHI!"

Someone, a very familiar someone, leapt and deliver a flying kick at Tatenashi. Using her trademark blue fan, Tatenashi block the kick. She could hear the girl assaulting her clicking her tongue before jumping back and landing perfectly in front of the student/teacher duo.

"So you have returned…"

"Hmph, do you think I will ever leave while knowing that you're here planning to sink your teeth to our sensei?"

The girl who had assaulted Tatenashi is a fellow second year student and like with Tatenashi, Makoto knew her well. Now that he thought about it, Tatenashi had not jeopardized his days because this particular girl is absent. He'd been looking forward to meet her again but after remembering that particular fact, he has mixed feeling. Tatenashi is just a tease, but when these two meets, chaos will ensue. He just hopes that they have grown up and try to not destroy the school in their rivalry.

"Whatever do you mean by that, Chall Acustica?"

"I meant exactly what I said, Sarashiki Tatenashi."

The girl, Chall Acustica, has long, curly brown hair. She is a little shorter than Tatenashi and wears a customized uniform with skirt that looks more like an office lady's skirt than a student. She is Tatenashi's rival and the second strongest student in the academy. She is also the Representative of Australia.

And the most important fact that Makoto has to remember is that just like Tatenashi, she's also attached to him and openly declares that she likes him and was the one who calls Tatenashi her rival in both IS and love. Yup, the worst rumor about him circulated because of Chall.

"…why do I still hang around with these crazies?"

* * *

Makoto is in the cafeteria's sofa when Ichika came and sit beside him. He looks exhausted and looks like ready to topple over at any time. Makoto could guess what happened. After all, that was how he look like in his first two weeks in the academy last year, maybe somewhat worse because of Chall and Tatenashi. Those two are energetic, competitive, and troublesome. Tatenashi is the mischievous type while Chall is the straightforward dojikko type, which shows since she did return late because she lost her baggage. The two of them combined make his day 'colorful'.

"So what happened back in the class?"

Makoto ask his friend, slightly smirking.

"Ugh, it was hell, they all want to take photo with me when this one Mayuzumi Kaoruko came and ask me a few things."

"Kaoruko… ahh, the vice president of the newspaper club!"

Makoto thought for a moment and remember why the name sounds rather familiar. He remember that particular student. Incidentally, it was through Mayuzumi Kaoruko that rumors about him dating both Tatenashi and Chall went around, mostly because she interviewed both of them. Thank heavens he managed to put a stop to that somehow with Chifuyu's help.

"To make matters worse, everyone tried to squeeze in when we're about to take a picture. First there's only Cecillia and Houki but suddenly everyone just squeeze in and well…"

"…lucky bastard."

Makoto gave Ichika a teasing grin while smacking him on the back. That also happened to him but he uses his authority as a teacher to stop things from getting too far. That and some Chifuyu-style clipboard chop.

"Speaking about Cecillia, what's with her anyway? She's suddenly so friendly to me. I heard you spoke to her after the match. What did you say to her?"

"Ahh that…"

Makoto can't help but chuckle when he remember that particular talk. He won't tell Ichika though. It's more fun that way.

"It's a secret."

"Ohh come on!"

Ichika whined. It is around this moment when he finally noticed that there are two girls glaring at each other. Well, one of them is while the other just has this usual mischievous look that Ichika had become acquainted with. Ichika of course already know Tatenashi but he doesn't know who the other girl is.

"Makoto, who is that girl?"

Ichika whispered to Makoto while pointing at the girl glaring at Tatenashi.

"That is Chall Acustica, representative of Australia and Tatenashi's current roommate."

"Ahh… wait a minute, another representative? Not a candidate?"

"She's Tatenashi's rival. Anyway…"

"So you're Orimura Ichika?"

Makoto was cut off when Chall finally noticed Ichika and choose to talk to him than deal with her rival. Chall was surprised when she heard that this year only one male student managed to past the entrance exam. Out of around a hundred male student applicants, only Ichika managed to pass. It was just ridiculous but that in turn made Ichika interesting. The first and currently the only male student in IS academy.

"Uhh, yes?"

"Interesting. I heard you trained under sensei and Tatenashi. You must be rather good."

"Uhh…"

Ichika doesn't know how to exactly respond to that. He wanted to say that he's good but he knew he's nowhere near as good as a representative and if Chall Acustica is Tatenashi's rival that means she should be as good as Tatenashi which means compared to her, Ichika is not very good. It's subjective really. If it is the general student population then he can call himself an elite (he won't though) and if it was a representative candidate then he could say he is equal depending on who asked.

"If you want to test him then go ahead. He's good. He could use a challenge."

Tatenashi said. Chall like that idea even if it came from Tatenashi. Her grin made Ichika very uncomfortable and he got the feeling that he will see her soon in an arena and Ichika is not looking forward to that. He is on candidate level dammit! Why must he face all these full representative monsters! From his own sister to Makoto and now Tatenashi and Chall, it says something when he had already faced 2 representatives and 2 champions while Cecillia is the only candidate he had ever faced and the only victory he ever had in an IS battle… ohh wait, there's the entrance exam too.

"Speaking of which, sensei, I have a news for you."

"News?"

Chall turn to Makoto. The teacher raised an eyebrow. He rarely ever missed any news and unless it's the latest and happened just this morning then he probably already knew what Chall wanted to tell him. He's still facing his tablet while urging Chall to go on.

"Japan has chosen a new representative and he is coming to this school tomorrow along with a representative candidate from China."

"…what?"

"I said that Japan has chosen a new…"

"Yes, I heard that. But did you say 'he'?"

"Yes, the representative is a male and he'll be in your class."

* * *

 **A new male character will be coming along with Rin! This one is a kidnapped character and not an OC. Take a guess on who it is. Just like Chall, he came from a Gundam series, Seed Destiny to be precise. Shit is about to go down since this one will be a very tough bastard. Yup, this guy is a representative level pilot even as a first year. Though not at Chall and Tatenashi's level yet, this guy is still above the candidates and can match most other representatives in pure skill so wait and see who it is.**

 **On another note, Chall Acustica is a character from Gundam 00P which tells the story about 2nd generation Gundam Meister, a prequel story to Gundam 00 featuring Feldt Grace's parents. This Chall is the Chall from her teen days, not the leader of Fereshte.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: A New Student**

A male representative and he will be in his class. There are not many things that could surprise Yuuki Makoto but apparently a male transfer student who is also a representative at his current age is surprising. Then again, he was around thirteen to fourteen when he first competed in the Mondo Grosso tournament, younger than this male pilot. Well, he is a special case. He is a Shijou after all.

When the new student enters the class, Makoto had to say he is rather taken aback. The boy has raven hair and red eyes and the upper part of his uniform is unbuttoned along with how he walks makes him look like a delinquent. But what Makoto noted and was surprised at the most is the hidden pain and anger in his eyes, a look he recognized closely. It is after all a look he always saw in a mirror when he looked at himself some years ago.

This student is one he has to look out for.

As he had expected, his students started to murmur among each other. Being a transfer student and male pilot, the new student is of course interesting in the eyes of the girls (plus Ichika) and Makoto has no doubt he would be bothered by them later. The problem is, this one most likely bites. Makoto give the 'go ahead' to the new student to introduce himself.

"I'm Asuka Shinn, representative of Japan."

'So he's not talking much huh. Hmm, I guess it's good that he's in my class. If my assessment is correct, putting Asuka in Chifuyu's class would've been a disaster in the making.'

Makoto thought as he imagine the problems that would appear if Shinn was put in Chifuyu's class. If what he saw in him was correct, Chifuyu is the worst teacher he could imagine for dealing with Shinn. He'll need to look over Shinn's data later.

"Alright, take your seat Asuka. You can have that spot beside Orimura."

Makoto told him. The boy curtly nodded and went to the indicated spot beside Ichika. Makoto had prepared the spot specially for him so that the boys could get along. He should've read his data before deciding on his seating arrangement. Well, at least he's not putting him beside Cecillia Alcott. Even if Alcott's attitude had gotten better, he wouldn't put Shinn beside her for fear of the boy getting easily irritated. The representative pilot looks like someone with short fuse after all.

'Why the hell did I take this job anyway?'

* * *

While Maya is handling the theoretical part of the lesson, Makoto is currently deep in thought and this time it is not related to any personal or official projects but for once it is school matter. The class representative is currently Ichika so he will be the one entering the class-representative tournament. But if he switched the representative to Asuka then they would be guaranteed to win the whole thing. Asuka is a representative-level pilot. Even if the other first year classes have representative candidates, they would be outmatched if Asuka is truly as good as his rank indicated.

But that would be unfair to the other classes. Letting Ichika fight is one thing since his level is quite right for his year even if it is at the top end but still, much fairer than letting Asuka fight. But if they want a complete victory then he should deploy the better pilot. Makoto has no doubt that Shinn's skill is the real deal. He had competed with other candidates to obtain the representative title once. It takes real skill to be one.

After some thinking, Makoto decided to let Ichika keep his class representative seat. It is more sporting that way. Plus he wants more data on Astrea's performance. With that done, Makoto pulled out his tablet and open the student registry list. He finally found a file on Asuka Shinn and clicked it.

Meanwhile, Makoto had not realized that class had ended and Maya left him alone since he seemed very focused and she doesn't want to disturb him. While Makoto is browsing Asuka's file, the class had become crowded. Some girls are gathering around Shinn while the others gather around Ichika. None would dare gather around Makoto because he's a teacher (and because of some warning by their seniors concerning a certain pair of rivals) especially when he's working.

"Ichika-san, are you ready for the class representative tournament?"

Cecillia ask Ichika. The male pilot remember about the three matches/training he agreed to have with Chall Acustica and shuddered internally. If that doesn't make him ready to face his fellow first years, he'll eat his shoe.

"I have plans."

"Umm, if you would like, I can help you train since I also have a personal IS."

Cecillia offers. She blushes as she imagines spending time with Ichika just the two of them even if it is training. But unfortunately for her, Ichika already has Chall booking him. That is until an evil idea struck Ichika. Cecillia will probably hate him for doing this but it will do her some good to. Besides, he's also preparing for the future.

"Okay. How about next Monday?"

Ichika felt a little bad for tricking her, especially when she looks so happy. He'll ask Tatenashi to go easy on her in their 'team' match. Ichika still haven't figured out why Cecillia suddenly want to get close to him though but he suspect that it has something to do with Makoto.

The class representative tournament. Just as the name implies, it is a tournament between class representatives and is pretty much just a show for students. It allows the students to see a real IS battle (Makoto: 'Not real enough without blood!') and give them a realistic goal before they start learning how to pilot an IS. To make it more interesting, the winning class will get half a year's worth of free dessert coupons.

"Do your best, Orimura-kun!"

"This is for the free coupons!"

"At this point, only the representatives from class 1 and class 4 have a personal IS, so it should be easy to win this!"

Ichika felt happy that his classmates are supporting him as many more girls began to gather around his table. Ichika glanced at the other male pilot and saw that he's looking out the window looking like he's in deep thought. It doesn't seem like he would join the conversation soon.

Suddenly Ichika heard the sound of the class door sliding open.

"—Your information is outdated."

Ichika heard a voice and it sounds familiar to him. He noticed that even Makoto look up from whatever it is he's doing since he probably also knew the voice.

"The class representative of class 2 also has a personal IS, you know! You can't win that easily."

The person who folded her arms in front of her chest as she puts a leg on her other kneecap and leans on the wall is someone Ichika knew and Makoto also knew her.

"Rin...? You're Rin, right?"

"That's right. I'm the representative candidate from China, Huang Lingyin. Today, I came here to declare war."

The girl, Rin, straightened her pose with one hand on her hip and another pointing forward.

"And I'm declaring war on you, Asuka Shinn!"

Everyone, including Makoto and Ichika, immediately turn to the new student who is now standing up and looking straight at Rin with narrowed eyes and feeling of annoyance. Asuka growled at the sight of china's representative candidate.

"Huang… Lingyin."

* * *

Makoto bang his head on the table hard as he took a seat. He took the sofa seat like usual in the cafeteria together with his usual entourage of Sarashiki Tatenashi and Chall Acustica. This time though three more people joined them. Ichika is actually rather expected but the other two are completely new and it is Cecillia Alcott and Huang Lingyin herself, the source of his current headache.

Makoto saw in the corner of his vision that Shinonono Houki is hiding behind a corner, watching them. Houki is part of Ichika's group of (normal) friends. She would've joined them if not for Makoto. She seems to avoid him like the plague. Or is it because she is scared of him? Well, he hates Tabane with a passion after all. Maybe he should talk with her. Makoto doesn't really like Houki but he doesn't hate her either. He was never close with her and they are at best acquaintances.

Huang Lingyin, or Rin, on the other hand, he knew her through Ichika and can say that they are friends. He visited her family restaurant together with Ichika in the past. They even met a few times after she moved to China when he went there for a week during his college days and then during his time as representative of Japan.

"Dammit Rin…"

"Ehehehe, sorry Makoto."

Rin apologize to Makoto though he doubts her sincerity. Now he need to decide whether he should switch class representative or not and that means more work for him when there's supposed to be none. Ichika is fine either way but after Rin's declaration of war to Shinn, the representative of Japan told him that he will become the class representative and accept Rin's challenge. Why he suddenly just agreed to the challenge is beyond him though Rin probably knew why… or he suspect she knew though he's not sure.

It's too early for him to deal with teenage hormone and angst… which made him feel old despite being only one year older than the first years. Still, Shinn at least told him that he also wants to gather data for his machine. There's not much data on it since it's a new machine that won't be completed until the end of the week. Shinn's old unit, code-named Impulse, was a 3rd generation unit that serves as base for his new unit. If 3rd generation serves only as a base, his new machine must be more advance, probably even 4th generation. Makoto could count with one hand the names of those who could make 4th generation IS units at the top of his head when most of the world is still just developing their 3rd generation model.

Makoto is actually curious. If it is really a 4th generation then he would recognize who created it immediately. Very few people could make a 4th gen and each have their distinct style and research. He would recognize the creator by seeing its special ability. Still, Ichika had been made class representative. But Shinn is a national representative. This is troublesome.

"You just gave me more work. Ugh, why the hell did I become a teacher anyway?"

"Because you're destined to, sensei!"

"Yes, you are destined to become a teacher so that we can meet."

"It is the red string of fate!"

"We are bound together forever!"

Makoto bang his head some more when both Tatenashi and Chall start to serenade much to his embarrassment. Why is he still hanging around with the crazies? Cecillia meanwhile take note of how straightforward Tatenashi and Chall are and feel like she had just found her role model in more ways than one. Ichika felt sorry for Makoto. And it's not even one month yet.

"Dammit, I'm starting to regret graduating early to participate in Mondo Grosso. I could've delayed it by three more years and I don't have to deal with you guys."

"Muu, that's not a nice thing to say, sensei."

Chall pouted with Tatenashi agreeing with her. Makoto can't tell whether he prefers them bickering and fighting or them teaming up together. At least he has his ramen to calm him down. He misses his college days. Just researching stuff and travelling around. He knew more than most people due to reading his sister's notes and helping her made her first IS so college was easy for him. He even misses the craziness he pulled off with his friend since back then he's not the one who had to deal with it afterwards.

Suddenly he gain more respects to his old teachers and lecturers if they can deal with teenage madness without dying young. Last year he felt like he would lose all hair after the year ended. Fortunately, he didn't. Speaking of his college days, Makoto wonder what his best friend is doing right now. Both of them had been busy so they didn't keep in contact.

"Is it too late for me to return back to college?"

Makoto ask no one in particular. Suddenly taking a doctorate degree looks more enticing if it allows him a reprieve from school. He's one in all but name anyway with his reputation as a pilot who is also an engineer. Actually, he'll keep that idea for later time. With his accomplishment so far, like being asked to build an IS for Japan's candidate, getting a doctorate will only be a formality.

"You're making a big deal out of this, Makoto."

"Hn."

"Don't sulk, you're already a teacher so act like one."

"That coming from the source of my current problem. And call me sensei when we're in class, Huang."

"Well we're not in class right now."

"And that's why I haven't hit you on the head yet. Ahh well, no use complaining now. So Rin, what's with you and Asuka anyway?"

Makoto asked. Ichika is also interested in hearing about that. Rin seems to know the new student and it's not just as a passing acquaintance. Even Cecillia looks interested and so are Chall and Tatenashi.

"Ohh that. Shinn and I knew each other when I moved to China. He came to China due to his father's work. We're neighbors and went to the same school. Then things… happen."

At this point, Rin suddenly become uncomfortable and doesn't know what to say. It looks like a sensitive subject and Makoto guessed that it is related to why Asuka has anger buried inside him. Makoto already knew what she wanted to say though since he read his files.

"If it's a sensitive subject then you don't have to tell us."

It was Ichika who said that. He took the hint and Rin appreciate it. She hates talking about that incident.

"Thank you. I don't like talking about it but… it's related to that terrorist attack in Shanghai a few years back."

There's no more need for Rin to elaborate as everyone got a look of realization of which case she's referring to. It's the infamous terrorist attack using two IS. It was a free for all combat inside the city and caused two hundred death tolls. Makoto knew even more details about that incident. He was there together with Chifuyu. It was Chifuyu who fought the terrorists.

Even so, Makoto still don't understand why would terrorist suddenly attack Shanghai. Some part of that incident was still a mystery to him. The equipments, the IS, he could identify as coming from either Yuki or Tabane. He didn't get any leftover part to analyze due to self-destruct sequence but it can only be either of the two of them. But the motive, he can't figure it out.

He decided to shelve it for later. He got the feeling that the incident will have certain significance in the future.

The rest of the lunch time was spent catching up with Rin after not seeing her for a long time, especially Ichika. But in the corner of his vision, Makoto can still see Houki still hesitating to approach them. He will need to talk with her soon. It always looks like she wants to say something to him but never got the courage. Maybe he should drag Ichika along with him. Plus it would be interesting to see their relationship after all this time.

* * *

"Why did you change the class representative?"

Chifuyu asked. There in the same hangar where they waited during Ichika and Cecillia's fight are Makoto, Chifuyu, Maya, Ichika, Houki, Cecillia, Chall and Tatenashi. It's somewhat more crowded than before which slightly irritates Chifuyu but Makoto just sat on his chair flanked by Chall and Tatenashi while his eyes are set on the screen, specifically on the new student.

"…because he has a reason to fight."

Makoto simply answered. It is true though. Shinn Asuka has more reason to fight than Ichika. It's not in a deep meaning though. Makoto just want to see his performance and to test out his IS. Gathering data is important after all. Ichika had his chance and now Shinn will get his. Also, Makoto is still curious about Asuka's IS. If it is developed from a complete 3rd generation that means it's either a 3.5 gen unit or a 4th gen.

"Asuka, you can now deploy your IS."

Makoto told the representative over the comm. The standby mode of Shinn's IS is a badge on his chest in the shape of a wing. On Makoto's cue, he activates his IS. Light engulfed him and in an instant he is clad in his IS, a white and blue unit with large red wings. Makoto noticed that it is more armored than usual and even have large shoulder armor and triangular protrusions that looks like a stored hilt. The hands too bear some unique features like the canon on each palm and shield generator on the wrist.

But the unit's most distinguishing feature is its backpack. Unlike the usual IS backpack that are usually not connected to the main body, the wings of the unit is connected to the pilot's back armor and stores a pair of foldable canons right over the wing joints. The wing itself is large enough that if it was spread at its full length, it would be as big or even bigger than the unit's full height.

"Asuka Shinn, Destiny, launching!"

The light went from red to green. With wings spread wide, the Destiny came to life as particles burst out from the wings in the form of a thin curtain of light. With wings of light spread wide, Destiny took off for the first time.

* * *

 **I'll be honest, I feel strange using the proper japanese naming for Shinn which would be Asuka Shinn. but well, here it is. I've planned this for a while. So different dynamic. Rin is not chasing after Ichika this time but instead have a certain kind of relationship with Shinn. Not romance, not yet. But Shinn will become a very important character, especially due to his past.**

 **Now on to his unit. Destiny is basically an IS version of Destiny Gundam (obviously) but I will note that instead of Destiny's backpack, Shinn's IS uses the design from Destiny Impulse with the dual retractable canons instead of Destiny's single folding canon. Apart from that, Shinn still has Destiny's basic weapons like the flash edge 2, palma fiocina, and the solidus fulgor though now mounted on the wrist. As for his beloved sword, well, it's there too. But the most important thing about Destiny is the Wings of Light. This one works the same way like Destiny Gundam's for the most part but the rules and techs behind it are different. The Wings of Light will become an extremely important plot device in this story so pay attention to it.**

 **I guess that's all I want to say. This arc will be kinda short but well, Rin's episode was short too.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Interclass Tournament**

The Destiny launched from the hangar, leaving behind trails of pink particles. Ichika had to whistle at how good it makes the unit looks. He had hoped his unit could do that if only because it would make him look good.

"So that's his IS unit? Looks powerful."

"It is. According to the data we have, it is a 4th generation unit. The data was given by the maker, strangely enough, only to Yuuki-sensei and the principal."

Yamada Maya answered and screens appear on the holographic monitor. It is of Destiny's spec and weaponry and Ichika could see that it rivals his own unit made by Makoto, especially its speed which actually surpasses the Astrea. Based on overall spec, it definitely beats any other IS the representatives and candidates possess except for Astrea.

"A 4th generation unit? What makes an IS a 4th generation unit anyway?"

Ichika asked. Makoto was the one who answered.

"What makes a unit a 4th generation IS is, theoretically, the fold out armor which we will cover in class if anyone would like to remind me. Like I said, it's THEORETICALLY what makes a unit considered to be 4th generation. But I beg to differ. The main feature of a 4th generation unit is the ability to use one-off ability in first shift. Ichika, you never used it but Astrea already got a one-off ability."

Makoto explained. Ichika nodded in understanding. One-off ability. This term is used to refer to special abilities the IS could develop based on data gathered on the pilot and thus are unique to their respective pilots. Usually they appear only when the IS unit reach second shift when the IS and the pilot achieve full synchronization. These special abilities cannot be copied and are highly sought out by countries which are why only the most elite of pilots were given personal IS so they could develop one themselves.

One-off abilities allow the pilots to do extraordinary things. For example is Chifuyu's one-off ability, Reiraku Byakuya that can nullify the opponent's shielding at the cost of shield energy. Makoto in his time as a pilot to Kurogane, his old IS, possess the one-off ability called Shatterpoint. It is an ability that allows Makoto to completely destroy an opponent's shield energy if he could attack his opponent at the same point with his weapon three times under 3 minutes. The first attack was to tag, the second to crack, and the third to shatter based on his explanation. It takes immense skill to strike the same spot thrice.

Another frightening one-off ability is of course the one-off ability of Yuki's IS, Aoki Senkou. It is simply called Senkou and like the name implies, it super accelerates the IS beyond normal speed and into the realm of godspeed. It makes Aoki Senkou unmatched in speed.

It was for these reasons that one-off abilities are highly sought after.

"So Destiny has a one-off ability?"

"Perhaps. We can only see."

* * *

The wings of Destiny folded back as Shinn floats steadily in the air with Rin floating across him in her IS, the Shenlong. Shinn had read about the unit before taking off. It's a close combat machine equipped with two massive scimitars that can combine into a double bladed scimitar. Shinn had used a similar weapon before but styled like a broadsword instead of scimitars while testing the predecessor unit to Destiny.

"Shinn."

"Rin."

"You surprised me. You were gone one day without saying anything and now here you are."

"It's none of your business Rin."

Shinn coldly replied. Rin sighed. That incident had changed him greatly. In a more ideal setting, they would've congratulate each other on their achievement and have a friendly competition but the current Shinn is not that energetic and friendly boy she met in high school.

"You know, you could've called or at least leave a letter."

"…is that all you want to talk about?"

He said as he materialized a light blue short sword with only the tip possessing an edge. The sword then extends to its full length and its crossguard unfolded as energy beams appear on each side of the sword. This is Destiny's sword and main close combat weapon called 'Tempest Sword'. In response, Rin combine the two halves of her Souten Gagetsu and spin it once before striking a pose.

"I'm just worried about you."

"Then don't."

When the green light was given to start the match, Shinn was the first one to strike as he use Destiny's incredible speed to close in on Rin and slash at her. Tempest was met by Souten Gagetsu and the two lock blades. But while he's doing that, Destiny's cannons moved and entered firing position on his shoulders and he quickly fired. Rin was surprised when he did that and didn't have the time to evade.

The blast caught the two of them and both Destiny and Shenlong received damage although it's only a minor scratch to Destiny's shield energy while it took a good seventy points from Shenlong because Rin managed to use the flat side of Souten Gagetsu in an attempt to block the point blank shot.

Shenlong emerged from the smoke of the blast facing Destiny and suddenly Shinn lifted both of his arms. The Destiny was suddenly pushed back as it deploy its beam shields to block whatever it is that Rin had attacked him with. The Chinese representative candidate clicked her tongue in annoyance as her attack failed to damage Shinn at least a little.

Once the shield had blocked the invisible attack, Shinn change his arm's position and direct his open palm at Rin, revealing the palm canon on his hand. Shinn open fire at Rin. She dodged the first shot but was then met by a sustained blast from Destiny's main canons. She blocked the blast with Souten Gagetsu again.

Suddenly her sensors detected objects moving at her from both sides. She saw two beam blades spinning towards her like boomerangs from both sides. She move backward and the boomerangs barely missed her. The barrage ended when the boomerangs missed and return to Shinn. Rin expected another attack but the Destiny did not move. Instead, Shinn made a gesture at her to come.

Rin is pissed. The arrogance, it made her want to go there and show him who is boss. But she kept in her mind that he is a full representative, not a candidate. He is of another level from her and he must have the skill to back it up. Rin took a deep breath and calm herself down. This is not a fight against a run-of-the-mill opponent. This is a fight against a superior pilot in a powerful IS that could cover all ranges.

Rin separate Souten Gagetsu and held each blade in one hand, dual wielding the massive scimitars. Rin charged head on with a loud battle cry. She raised both of her blades up and swung it down. Shinn evaded and spun in the air, counterattacking with Tempest that almost slashed Rin from behind. Rin turn Shenlong around and fired a blast from her canons. The two large spherical objects floating on her shoulders are actually canons, impact canons that compress nearby space and shooting out the resulting shockwave as projectile.

Due to the form and nature of the weapon, the trajectory should be invisible but Shinn somehow knew where and when she's firing her impact canons because he again deployed his shields. He was pushed back but again, no significant damage was made. After the attack was done, it's Shinn's turn to rush straight at Rin with Tempest in hand.

Rin slashed one of her scimitar down but was met with Destiny's beam shield while the hand holding Tempest slashed at her. She block the sword with her other scimitar but Shinn followed up with a kick that knocked her backward and shoot a quick blast at her with his main canons. Rin managed to evade, if barely since the blast managed to graze her left impact canon. But her sensor warned her of another attack coming and this time she didn't have time to evade as a beam boomerang hit her.

* * *

"Amazing, he's able to see those invisible blasts. What are those things again?"

"Impact canons. It uses compressed space as projectile in the form of shockwave. It's a good weapon but… the opponent is just too bad."

Makoto said. Indeed, the opponent is too bad. Destiny is able to detect a change in space around the barrel the moment it is charging and really, despite the invisible trajectory, there's only one direction it could come from and that is from the enemy's direction. Destiny's shield is big and powerful enough to cover it sufficiently.

Destiny's sensors are better than even state-of-the-art 3rd generation IS. Shinn had not shown its full capability but so far the unit has proved that it is powerful with its multi-range capability. The pilot is holding back for now. Why he's holding back, Makoto can only guess. He wanted to see the unit use its full capability, especially if his suspicion about its maker is right.

"During the match, the Destiny had not unfolded its wings even once."

"The wings?"

Ichika questioned. Now that Makoto mentioned it, the only time Destiny unfolded its wings is when it launched but after that it had not used it. Then again, Shinn had not moved that much throughout their match. They even barely use the whole arena to fight unlike when Ichika fought Cecillia.

"I wonder, what will happen if he did use…"

Suddenly everyone heard a beeping sound coming from the console. Maya who is operating the console quickly work to find out what's making the sound. When she identified the reason, her eyes widened.

"Maya, what is it?"

Chifuyu asked. Maya turn to the other two teachers.

"Two unidentified objects are entering IS Academy airspice and are on collision course with the arena!"

* * *

After the boomerang attack that cut a quarter of Rin's remaining shield energy, the two pilots fell back and stare at each other. Rin is planning her next move while Shinn is simply waiting. Just as Rin was about to attack again, the arena shook. The two then turn to the smoke rising from the middle of the arena.

"Wh-What's going on...?"

Rin asked as Shinn narrow his eyes at the smoke, using his IS' sensor to see what's going on. Suddenly a message came from Makoto addressed to him.

"Asuka, the match's suspended! Hurry up and return to the control zone!"

Makoto ordered but Shinn did not pay attention to what the young teacher said. Instead, he focus his attention on the smoke. When he saw what is behind the smoke, his eyes turn bloodshot and he grip his sword tightly. Shinn then charged at the smoke with both hands holding Tempest and swing down the sword at something.

"So there really is more of you!"

He screamed. As the smoke cleared, something emerged and meet his sword head on. Rin gasped when he saw a fully armored winged IS colored black with blue details holding a sword meeting Shinn head on, its other hand holding a rifle moved and point it to Shinn's face. She shuddered when she saw the unit because she recognized it.

The black unit, although it's different in some places, looks a lot like the one that appeared in Shanghai. Now Rin is really worried. She's about to go help Shinn when another IS unit appear blocking her path.

The situation had gone bad.

* * *

 **And after so much thought, I decided to go for the hell of it and make it like this. Destiny's first match and also first real battle. Sorry that I make the characters somewhat different but it's hard to work these two out, especially with the different life experience and burden. Although I enjoy writing this Rin since she definitely can't treat Shinn like she did with Ichika in cannon. For one thing, Shinn is an emotionally burdened teenager. And for another thing, he's a Representative, which makes him superior to a candidate so Rin can't really show any attitude since he's officially acknowledged as a Representative. Anyway, Destiny will show its real capability next chapter.**

 **As for the two IS, we know that the unmanned drone IS in cannon was sent by Tabane so obviously the other one is sent by her rival. Rin now has to fight an unmanned IS alone while Shinn fights the other. The unmanned IS is also different from the one in cannon due to the different circumstances. In this case, the black IS Shinn is facing is based on the black Ragna Mail belonging to Embryo from Cross Ange.**

 **FlashDevil: I have checked that one and… well, I have no problem with that design apart from a few things. I like its sword and wings but maybe I'll change the coloring.**


End file.
